I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Great Shelford. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Great Shelford are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Great Shelford in which case you should be shopping around for a Great Shelford conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I own a leasehold house in Great Shelford. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Great Shelford who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Great Shelford conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Great Shelford both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Great Shelford. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Great Shelford. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a long established estate agency in Great Shelford where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Great Shelford conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Great Shelford, conveyancing formalities finalised 1996. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable flats in Great Shelford with over 90 years remaining are worth £258,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2072

With only 50 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £42,800 and £49,400 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Great Shelford